DayCare
by inkspot823
Summary: Neji and Tenten are sent on a mission to gaurd a local lords childern. Only problem? Neji can't stand kids...
1. Chapter 1

AN: Ok! A NejiTen story! FYI these chapters will be relatively short, and if there are mistakes in my grammar and such, let me know. Tenten will be slightly moody, cause that's the way I write her, but for the most part, she should be fine. Let me know if it's worth continuing!

Tenten stretched rather lazily as she and Neji made their way through the busy streets of Konoha. They had been singled out of the team, and were headed to the Hokage's office on a summons. On the way up the stairs, Tenten waved at Shikamaru, who looked away and suppressed a snicker.

Curious as to why, Tenten didn't get the chance to ask Shikamaru what was so funny as Neji hurried her along. The kunoichi huffed a sigh. That might have been fine when they were kids, but she was twenty-two now.

Neji turned to look at her as if hearing her thoughts. "You ok? You looked miffed?" He asked.

"Nothing. I just would have liked to have talked to Shikamaru, that's all." She said, striding past him to the Hokages office.

He flinched. That was Tenten's equivalent to a pummeling from Sakura. He must have been really ticking her off for her to respond that way. Still, he hurried after her to the Hokage's office.

Naruto looked up at them as the walked in, a big grin on his face, and the two of them couldn't help but smile in his company.

"Hey! How are things going guys?"

"Just fine. How are you Naruto?" Tenten smiled calmly.

He pouted. "Busy. Very busy. But, ah well. So are you guys ready for another mission?" Neji nodded curtly. "Good! Cause I have a good one for you guys!"

He hefted a scroll at them, and Neji caught it easily, waiting until Naruto finished speaking to open it. "Some local lord wants guards for his kids. He wants someone skilled in a physical type of battle that will result in less blood than a kunai to the neck, so sending a Hyuuga seemed the most logical. And which Hyuuga is better than _**the **_genius Hyuuga prodigy?" Neji grinned and gave a small bow, accepting the flattery.

Naruto turned to look at Tenten now. "His wife, however, wants a 'female ninja,' a kunoichi who has some experience with children and won't scare her children to death while she thrashes the enemy. As you can guess, Sakura and her punch of death was immediately out, Ino's torture and interrogation techniques aren't qualified to protect anyone, Hinata is away on another mission and is still too soft spoken to keep Neji in check-" Neji frowned and started to turn red. "-Anko is downright scary, and Kurenai is still on leave to spend time with her kid." He grinned. "Not to mention that you just work the best with Neji anyways."

She smiled. "Well, we have been teammates for years."

"Great!" Naruto examined Neji for a moment. "Is there a problem Neji?" He asked curiously.

Neji was quiet for a moment. "I hate kids." He muttered.

Tenten and Naruto stared for a moment before she huffed a sigh and placed her head in her hands. She could already see _this_ mission going well….


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Second chapter! Sorry I made you wait, but I didn't want to post it until I was sure which direction I was taking this story. I hope you enjoy it!

Neji and Tenten stood in front of a rather large and impressive mansion, staring at the front gates and feeling overwhelmed by the shear size of everything.

"Figures." Neji whispered. "The people in the village work themselves to death trying to make a living, and this fat bastard probably sits on his ass all day."

Tenten elbowed him in the side. "Knock it off! He's probably got camera's set up somewhere nearby!"

Neji rubbed his now aching ribs. "Phh… I don't doubt it, but I really don't care."

She suppressed a growl and rang the buzzer on the gates. A camera came to life overhead, and the intercom beside the buzzer fizzled to life with a static crackle.

"Can I help you?" The fuzzy voice came through, sounding aggravated at having been interrupted.

"Yes. Were the ninjas from Konoha." Tenten said calmly, smiling at the camera as she pulled out a scroll of authentication.

There was a moment of silence. "Is that a Hyuuga or a blind freak?"

Neji twitched, turning his glare to the camera so fiercely that Tenten feared if he stared at it for too long it might burst into flames. "Do I look like blind freak to you?" He ground out aggressively.

"No Sir! Come right on in Sir!" The man on the other side of the intercom amended quickly. Tenten was suddenly grateful he was on the other side of the intercom; she didn't want to explain to the local lord why one of his people was lying paralyzed in the guard house from Neji's sixty-four palms technique.

The gates groaned to life, opening inward to reveal the expansive front yard of the mansion. The walk to the front of the house took them three minutes just to get through the gardens. They were greeted on the front porch by a tall thin man, who had a kind face, and hands that shook slightly from not having anything to do with them at the moment. Neji concluded he was a servant.

"Welcome to my home." Well, so much for that assumption. "I've been awaiting your arrival. You certainly didn't waste anytime in getting her! Thank you for your promptness."

Tenten smiled. "It's our pleasure to be here. But, what I don't understand is why you wanted guards for your children in the first place."

He frown. "Yes, well. Why don't we discuss this after you change? It wouldn't do to have the whole world know I have shinobi running around my house, would it?"

Neji frown. "No, I think it would be better if you told us now. That way we know why you want us out of our _armor."_

By his tone Neji made it clear that 'no' was not an answer, and the Local Lord gave a sigh of defeat. "Very well then. My name is Emi Konsetsu, and recently I've been having trouble with the local gangs. They say I don't do enough for the people and that I'm greedy, but the townsfolk came to me and said that the gang merely wants the money for themselves and not the village."

He sighed and rubbed at his temples. "The villagers wouldn't take the money if I offered it anyways. They're very proud people, and insist on doing things on their own. However, I frequently shop in all their stores just to make sure there's enough money circulating around. The gangs don't like this.

"Just last week, a window was smashed to pieces when somebody threw a brick through it. The note that was tied to it made it very clear what the locals gangs were going to do if they didn't get their way. They were going to hire ninja's of their own to kidnap my children and hold them for ransom to get the money that way."

Neji thought about this for a moment. "And you don't want to give them the money for fear they use it to harm the towns villagers?"

"Or possibly buy more ninjas and mercenaries to overthrow the town, like that guy Gato did in the Land of Waves." Tenten added thoughtfully.

Konsetsu's face blanched in fright. "Oh my stars! I hadn't even thought about it that way! I was merely worried that they would hurt somebody when I told them the price was too high! They're demanding more than I have!"

'Must be a lot then…' Tenten thought bitterly. But the fact that he was too worried about others safety to realize that larger things were at stake marked him as a kind person in her book. She smiled understandingly.

"Very well. We understand your concern. We'll make sure we aren't detected by the local gangs."

Neji nodded. "Yes. You may show us to the changing rooms now if you wish."

Konsetsu nodded. "Yes. Changing to disguise yourselves. How clever! I only wanted you to change so that you'd stop scaring my servants the way you did at the guard house!"

AN: Fun fact time! Emi Konsetsu, the name of the local lord, is not a name I pulled from thin air! Imagine that! Emi means smile, and Konsetsu means kindness. I thought that was rather cool, so I thought I'd share it.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: And the third chapter! I hope I didn't make you wait too long…

Neji pulled his shirt on over his head the next morning, grumbling over lack of sleep. He and Tenten had been made to share a room so as not to draw suspicion, and the children's bedroom wasn't far down the hall. He was already having trouble sleeping with Tenten (and all her weapons) curled against his chest, so he certainly didn't want to be woken up and rushed into battle every time one of the little brats had to get up and go to the bathroom. The Hyuuga elders would never have approved of this mission.

Tenten was sitting on the other side of the bed. For the most part, she had slept soundly. She sighed as Neji's grumbling became more irate.

"Neji stop it. Just because you are not used to children doesn't mean that you should speak such venom about them."

"When said children prevent me from getting enough sleep to do my job properly, I think I am entitled to be a little upset."

She glared, trying to shimmy into her pants. "We've been trained to live with lack of sleep and look seemingly unaffected. You haven't been staying up for the past few nights, have you?"

He bristled. "I have not. Just get changed and lets go check things out."

Her curiosity peaked, she shot him a questioning look, but said nothing. Instead, she stood up and smoothed her pants into place before turning to look at Neji.

"What do you think? Do I look normal?"

"You'd look more normal if you had a kunai in your hand." He remarked.

She glared. "I meant, do I look civilian like?"

"Yes, very civilian like. Now, be honest and tell me how many weapons you have stashed in the outfit of yours."

"Thirty two, not counting scrolls. You?"

"Eight. I don't normally use weapons, so I'm not exactly sure how to hide them in my clothes."

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about the property damage from your clumsily thrown knives. Now come on, lets head down stairs to breakfast. And don't forget your cane, blind man." She teased.

Neji scowled. He refused to wear contacts, so he was being forced to pretend he was blind. This irritated the already tired, grumpy ninja to no end, so he really hoped those children were well behaved; otherwise, he might end up injuring one of them.

Two pairs of eyes watched from the walls outside as the couple made there way down the stairs towards the dining hall. The taller of the two, his face marked by a jagged scar running over his nose, passed the binoculars over to the other.

"What do you think Yuuku? Did the old man send for ninjas?"

"They don't look like ninjas to me, Kodawari. The man has a cane, and it looks like he just stumbled down the steps."

"You think he might actually be blind then?"

"Well the women doesn't look that formidable either. Still, he wouldn't have guests knowing we're around. Maybe we should pay them a visit."

Kodawari turned his back to the smaller man, springing off the wall to the grass below. "I don't give orders to the boss, but if you want to, that's fine by me. Besides, if they are ninja, it's gonna take more than two of us."

Yuuku growled, jumping after him as he ran off. "It was just a damn suggestion…"

AN: More fun facts! Both Yuuku and Kodawari mean trouble, but Yuuku is the more distressing of the two, as one might guess from their personalities. Hope you're enjoying it so far! And you will get to meet the children in the next chapter, I promise! Sorry for hiding them for so long…


	4. Chapter 4

Breakfast had gone off smoothly. Well, except for that spoonful of oatmeal Neji had to clean off his glasses. But other than that, breakfast had gone off smoothly.

Now, he and Tenten were in the living room, playing with the three children running around the wide space. Neji sighed, having had enough of the little brats. Akachan was the youngest, only three years old, she wore a bright pink dress at all times, and her hair in pigtails. She also said very little, which made her Neji's favorite. Mabui was the middle child, another girl, only fours years in age. She liked tea parties and playing house, and was fairly well behaved. But Jaki, the oldest at only six, was trouble. When Tenten was watching him, he was an angel. But the moment she turned her back, he was pulling on Neji's hair or making a mess, or some other such destructive thing.

Tenten was currently playing with Mabui, carrying the small giggling girl around on her shoulders, and urged on by the constant cry of, 'Fasta! Fasta!' Neji was content to let just Akachan sit on his lap and play with her doll, but Jaki was sneaking around behind him.

"Jaki, what are you doing?"

"Nothing…."

Neji sighed, about to turn around when his ponytail was forcefully yanked on, making him topple over backwards and sending his glasses skating across the floor. Akachan started to cry, and Neji sighed rubbing at his temples as he heard his glasses be snatched up off the floor.

"Neji! What are you doing?" Tenten cried setting Mabui down so that she could comfort Akachan. Neji resented the fact that she had grabbed the child and made no move to help him, but he choose not to say anything about that.

"Jaki yanked me over backwards." He grumbled, rubbing at the base of his sore neck. He was sure that the brat had yanked out half his hair.

Tenten tuned to Jaki with a stern look, removing the glasses from his hands. "Jaki…"

"I did not! He was leaning back in his chair and tipped over! I didn't do anything, I swear!" he cried, his eyes tearing up.

Tenten turned back to Neji, tossing his glasses into his lap. "Really Neji? Were you really going to blame your mistake on Jaki? He's far too sweet to do something like that anyways."

"What?"

"Neji stop being a child." Tenten chided, striding out of the room. "Mabui, Jaki, lets head to the game room. You guys can run around in there."

Neji watched her go, irritated that she had yelled at him in front of children. Mabui scampered after her, stopping only to wave.

"Bu-bye Unnka Neji! Come pway weel soon, otay?"

She ran out of the room, leaving Jaki standing in the doorway. The cheeky brat smirked, and stuck out his tongue before disappearing around the doorframe to catch up with Tenten. Neji could feel his blood pressure rising. There was a reason he hated children so much; he always got stuck with brats like _that._

Kodawari bowed his head in respect as he entered the dimly lit room. Yuuku, following right behind him, huffed in irritation, but nodded.

"You've returned sooner than expected. Has old man Konsetsu made a move already?"

Kodawari raised his head to look at the man draped in shadows. "We're not entirely sure. He has guests, a man and a woman. We didn't see them arrive, but the man looks as though he might be blind."

"And you thought they might be ninja in disguise?"

"We weren't sure. It would appear so, but we leave the thinking up to you."

"Wisely said. Return to your posts, and observe them. We will make our move soon enough. And if they are ninja, we'll be ready for them."

Kodawari bowed deeply. "Yes Master Satsujin."

AN: And the plot thickens! *Chuckles* Isn't Jaki such an adorable little brat? I had so much fun writing for him in this chapter. Should be more fun to continue with this now.

And cause I have been, Random Fun Facts! Akachan, the name of the smallest girl, means baby, an easy way to remember that she's the youngest. Mabui, the middle child, means cute. You'll find out why that is later. And Jaki, that lovable little scamp, means imp, cause he's just such a brat! And last but not least, Satsujin. Satsujin means murder. Not a hard to understand why….


	5. Chapter 5

Neji was pacing the halls, trying to work off his anger. Since Tenten had yelled at him, he had been pacing the mansion to avoid having to deal with the children, but still had the excuse that he was checking the perimeter. He strode down the hall with the game room calmly, trying to make it look like he needed this damned cane, and not get it stuck in his feet, when a pair of tiny feet came thumping down the hallway after him.

"Unka Neji! Unka Neji!" Mabui cried as she ran after him, he knelt and let her jump into his arms.

"What's the matter?"

"It's awnty Tenten! She's sick!" She cried fearfully, her eyes brimming with tears.

Neji suddenly had a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach, and his mouth grew dry. He hefted the small girl onto his shoulders and took off down the hall.

"Where is she?"

"Inna bathwoom acwoss da hall fwom the game woom! Huwwy, Unka Neji! Huwwy!" She sobbed.

"Stay down, ok? Try and hide behind my head or something, just in case." Neji commanded, already feeling her tears seep through his long hair to his scalp. Ew.

"Twun here!" She cried, causing Neji to skid past the door. He backtracked and dashed into the small room. Jaki was sitting on the edge of the tub, watching as Tenten wretched over the toilet bowl. Behind him, Akachan clung to Jaki's shirt in fear. Neji closed the door behind him and bent down beside her, patting her back as she wretched again.

"Tenten? I know this is a stupid question, but are you ok?"

She gasped for air, spit, and then glared at him. "No. I'm not ok. I'm throwing up."

"Is it… will you live?" He asked, rubbing her shoulder. "I mean, it's not like somebody slipped you something, right?"

She heaved, causing the little hands already yanking on his hair to be pulled even tighter. He winced.

"It… it's not poison. It doesn't have the right aftertaste." She muttered, spitting again.

"Drugs?"

She shook her head, became dizzy, and decided to stop. "No. I think I'm just sick."

He sighed, and leaned his head against her shoulder. "I'm not sure if I should be relieved, or if I should start panicking."

She smiled. "Choose relieved. It makes me feel better."

He nodded. "Right. I need to bring Auntie Tenten back to bed. Can I count on you three to lead this old blind man there?"

Jaki stood up and stared at him defiantly. "I'll show ya. But you hafta show me your eyes after."

Neji wasn't in the mood for making deals, but he supposed he didn't really have a choice.

"Deal."

...

...

"You know, I think he might actually be blind. He ran right past that door, and had to back up before going in." Kodawari said, putting down his binoculars to look at the other man.

"But I've never seen a blind man run, have you?" Yuuku growled.

He thought about it. "No… But then, I've never met a blind person."

"You're an idiot. If you were blind, would you go running around all over the place."

"…No?"

"Exactly."

"But the lady is sick. Ninja never get sick."

He snorted. "Ninja are still people. She could have caught something."

Kodawari grinned. "If she's a ninja I'm sure she's caught all kinds of things."

Looking at him strangely, Yuuku rolled his eyes. "You know what? I'm relieving you of sentry duty. Go make food and wait for the signal."

He glared momentarily before hopping out of the tree and onto the other side of the wall. "Well, I thought it was clever…"

...

...

Neji put Tenten carefully on their bed. She was looking much healthier since she was no longer heaving. The color had returned to her face, and the only sign that anything had been wrong at all were the few misplaced pieces of hair. He placed a trashcan on the floor next to her should she feel the need for it, and sat down at her feet while the children crawled onto the bed.

"You probably shouldn't be on the bed right now," he scolded lightly.

"Ya promised, ya'd show me your eyes!" Jaki complained, loudly.

Akachan and Mabui crawled up closer to Tenten and laid down next to her as Neji sighed, realizing he was never going to get these kids to leave her alone. "Ok, fine. Come here." He muttered crossly, pulling his glasses off his face.

Jaki examined his face suspiciously, and Neji stared off into his space, annoyed by the whole thing. However when Jaki took his face in his hands and pulled him closer, he examined the curious boy back with a bit of concern for his eyes.

"Ya eyes are all white." He remarked curiously. "Why is that?"

Neji bit his lip as he thought up a good excuse, but it probably looked like he was debating on whether or not he should tell Jaki or not. "I can handle it! Please tell me!" He begged, staring up at him with big expectant eyes.

He sighed. "I'm not really sure I should. I don't really like telling this story much, after all." Jaki's lips started to quiver, and Neji glanced over at Akachan and Mabui. Tenten had let the two of them cuddle up to her, and she smiled at him. "Alright. There was an accident when I was younger." He started.

"Ya weren't born that way?"

"Well that wouldn't make a very good story, now would it?" He smirked. "No. It was an accident. The house caught on fire when I was kid, and I didn't want to leave until I had saved my pet canary. So I ran back through the fire. But on the way out, I well… I was injured. Falling beams will do that to you."

Jaki sat back, gazing at him with wide eyes, probably envisioning the whole thing in his head. Neji suppressed a grin, and continued on with the fabricated tale. "My vision started to go slowly after that. First, things were watery shapes, then shadows, and eventually, nothing."

"What did ya do then?" Jaki asked, mesmerized.

"I learned. The way different things sound, and smell, and the way they feel. Each are different. What your eyes see, my other sense tell me."

"Can you teach me?"

"Not unless you want to walk around in a blindfold, which I don't recommend, since you bump into a lot, and it hurts." He grinned, putting his glasses back on.

"Well, I'm not afraid."

"I've no doubt about that. But I need you to be my eyes."

Tenten sat up, Mabui and Akachan crawling into her lap. "Thank you for the wonderful story Neji. But we should head back to the playroom."

"You should rest." He said sternly.

Tenten glared. "I'm fine. It must have just been something I ate."

"Tenten, I don't think-"

"I'm FINE." she said firmly. "I couldn't stay in bed anyways."

Mabui wobbled across the bed to Neji, looking up at him with huge brown eyes as she cuddled into his chest. "Carry me, unka Neji? Pwease?" She asked.

He sighed. "Alright. Let's head back to the playroom."

He gave a groan as Jaki jumped on his back. "I'll be ya eyes!" He grinned, and Neji sensed just a bit of malicious intent behind those words, but he set Mabui on his shoulders and let Jaki drag him around.

Tenten smiled and walked out of the room, while Neji closed his eyes and blindly followed Jaki's instruction. He quickly opened them again though, due to his now splitting headache from running into the door.

"Gee, unka Neji. That looked like it huwt!"

"It _did_."

"…Unka Neji? Why is ya eye twitchin'?"

...

...

Kodawari looked up from the cold meal he was trying to prepare and saw different shapes darting through the shadows in the trees around him. A malicious smile spread across his face, and he turned to call up to Yuuku.

"Hey! I think they're here!"

"What are you talking about you moron? We're supposed to be waiting for a _signal_!" He called back angrily.

A tall man stepped out of the shadows. "We came to personally hand deliver it." He said in a hissing voice. "We move now."

Yuuku smirked. "Now that's more damn like it!"

...

AN: Ok! This chapter is longer than the rest, and was a pain in the butt to write. :P Hopefully the switches in scenes will be easier to see with breaks in the page, if Fanfic will keep the breaks THERE. No fun facts this time, but look forward to them next chapter! (Maybe) On a side note though, I love writing for blind characters, even if they're only acting. :D


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